Old Testament Christianity & the Rapid Deterioration of the Early Church

Handout #13 12/7/14

I. One of the main arguments used by Roman Catholics (RC) and Eastern Orthodox (EO) against the Protestant faith is that many of the distinctive doctrines of these two churches are found in the writings of Church Fathers in the early centuries of church history.
A. Here’s their point: Those who lived in the days closest to Jesus and His disciples should be trusted to have a more accurate understanding of their teachings than those of us who come later.
II. The response
A. The earliest writers, the ones who were actually alive before the last apostle died, are not the ones who say these things, with potentially one very arguable exception:
1. Barnabas
a. mentioned many times in NT as the associate of Paul
b. this writing is widely considered fraudulent
2. Hermas
a. mentioned in Romans 16:14
b. widely considered fraudulent
3. Clement of Rome
a. companion of Paul, mentioned in Phil.4:3
b. pastor in Rome
c. wrote letter to the Corinthians
d. cites OT priesthood as evidence that God wants order in the church, but
e. There is nothing in this writing to tell us how the apostolic faith was practiced or interpreted at the time.
4. Polycarp
a. Had contact with the apostle John
b. Wrote a very short and practical epistle to the Philippians.
c. It is completely consistent with what we believe Scripture says.
d. It includes the fact that the church in Philippi at the time was ruled by elders and deacons.
5. Epistle to Diognetus
a. Author unknown, perhaps written by Justin Martyr
b. Author claims to be a disciple of an apostle.
c. It reaffirms things taught in the NT, but nothing else that sheds light on our question.
6. Ignatius
a. A contemporary of the later apostles (like John)
b. Supposedly wrote several epistles on his way to be martyred
(1) We have 15 purportedly written by him, but it is generally agreed that at least 8 of them are fraudulent.
(2) There are widely varying manuscripts of the other 7, the validity of which is hotly debated. It’s obvious that some of them at least were severely edited and adapted for theological purposes.
(3) Most think the seven letters are genuine. The question is whether we have any copy of the original document accurate enough to be helpful and instructive.
(4) In some of the versions, there are references to Prelacy – rule by bishops – at places. But many think they were adjusted several centuries later in order to make this argument.
B. The theological roots of later RC/EO developments are exaggerated.
1. The sayings are not that clear. They are mixed.
2. Both sides tend to selectively quote, because on most issues there is evidence on both sides.
C. The quickness of some apostasies in OT, NT, church history
1. Joshua to Judges
2. Hezekiah to Manasseh
3. NT
a. Corinth: divisions, immorality, drunkenness during communion,
b. The church in Sardis (Rev.2:1-6)
4. Church history
a. Early heresies: Gnosticism, Docetism,
b. Congregation churches in Boston 1800-1825
III. There is certainly some truth about their claim that the church fathers in the third and fourth centuries teach some things which are more like the RC/EO than like what we believe. How can we explain this?
A. Last week Larry mentioned the influence of pagan religion on Christianity after the Christianization of the Roman empire under Constantine. But I would like to talk about another aspect of this that I think might be very significant.
B. Changes from OT to NT
1. Christ’s coming made a big difference: a shift in time, a shift in the way God deals with man. He changed the true religion in some significant ways.
2. The OT itself predicts this over and over: a day is coming which will change everything.
3. The NT as well: e.g. John 4:21-23 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father... an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”
4. There are many things in the OT Jesus did not change when He came, some He even reaffirmed.
5. But the coming of Christ also changed some things, and these became some of the biggest issues of the NT because not everyone was happy with all of those changes.
6. There was a definite tendency to cling to the old ways and resist the new.
7. The Judaizers are one example of a group which was very uncomfortable with some of the changes. And they claimed that they were being true to the scriptures.
a. Circumcision was in the Bible! The food laws were in the Bible!
b. They were committed to Scripture but were fixed on the OT way of thinking and weren’t willing for it to be adjusted by the coming of the messiah.
8. But it was not just them. The changes were hard for almost everyone.
9. Even the disciples were troubled by some of the things Jesus introduced.
a. Peter’s struggle to accept the inclusion of the Gentiles: Cornelius (Acts 10-11)
b. When Jesus left and was carried off to heaven on a cloud, the disciples were still far from comfortable with the new ways Jesus had introduced.
(1) Their last meeting included the question, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) proving that they were still thinking in OT categories and not according to the new way of Christ.
10. Jesus anticipated the discomfort with these changes in Luke 5:37-39, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
11. Paul confronted this danger of preferring the old head-on.
a. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
b. “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15)
12. The Book of Hebrews is all about the superiority of the new and the danger of going back to the old.
C. There are all sorts of ways to distort and even ruin the gospel of Christ. And one of the big ones is by keeping OT patterns which were meant to be disposed of when Christ came.
IV. I would suggest to you that many of the distinctives of RC/EO are actually manifestations of OT Christianity.
A. Priesthood (a carryover from the OT priesthood)
B. The belief that there is power in material things: holy objects, holy places, holy people, relics, statues/icons, buildings.
C. They have relied on fear as a motivator more than grace as motivator (Heb.12:18-24).
D. They have sought to build an earthly kingdom, when Christ said His kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36).
E. They think the sacraments are effectual.
1. OT ‘sacraments’ were merely symbolic, not efficacious (like the RC/EO view of the mass or baptismal regeneration), though language that sounds efficacious is used in the OT in the institution of these sacraments. (We talked about this last week.)
a. Circumcision versus circumcision of the heart
b. Sacrifices which seem to forgive but actually don’t (Heb.10:1, 4)
c. Ceremonial cleansings which don’t really cleanse the heart
F. They teach salvation by works, like in the old covenant.
G. They rely on tradition instead of the word of God (Mark 7:1-7).
H. Emphasis on the outward, as opposed to the inward
1. They substitute the outward authority of an infallible church for the inward work of the Word upon the soul. For the inward faith uniting a man to his Savior, they substitute an outward union with a visible society. For the internal operation of the Spirit upon the heart, renewing and sanctifying the inner man, they substitute the outward cleansing by penance and absolution at the hand of the external church. For the unseen Priest in heaven, with His unseen intercession and His once-for-all sacrifice they substitute a visible priest and a sacramental sacrifice, both of the outward church.
I. Like the OT, RC/EO are more hierarchical/elitist, whereas the NT and Protestantism are more democratic.
1. Matt.23:8-10 “You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.”
2. Peter in Acts 2:17–18 “In the last days it shall be that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”
a. In contrast to the OT, the Spirit is poured out upon ALL of God’s people, and equips all of them for ministry.
3. The Body of Christ image (1Cor.12) confirms this, speaking of all the parts of Christ’s body as valuable and useful and gifted, as opposed to ministry being reserved for an elite class.
4. The people are entrusted with the duty of electing deacons (Acts 6).
a. The Reformed idea of church authority is that under Christ God’s people lead themselves through the leaders they elect.
J. Might this this explain how the early church slipped back so quickly? — not by rejecting Jesus but by adapting Jesus to the old ways and old instincts and old structures, making Jesus the champion of old religion?